I posted this on simscave but got one solution (meant for Windows) and the loading screens take so long that I gave up and I haven't played in a month or so. The solution that was given to me was merging files with a bunch of programs, but they're meant for Windows, so I was wondering if there was a way to slash loading time by half. Most of my CC are just hair and clothes, I've no core mods. All help appreciated.

I personally can't run the game with more than 70 or 80 package files in my Mods folder. It's not just the loading screens that take long, but also the game itself will lag and sputter more than usual.

The problem isn't the size of the files, but the number of files the game needs to 'open' on start-up. Instead of having to open your regular game files, your game has to go through your mods folder and open an additional 400+ *individual files* every time you start up or do something that requires loading up your catalog in some way.
It doesn't matter whether the files are hairs or tiny little deco files, they all have to be accessed on start-up.

That's why the only solution is to merge, and you need S3PE, which only runs properly on Windows.

Do you actually use all 400+ pieces of CC? I recommend getting rid of anything that you don't use. I recently did this and my game runs a lot better. Also, remember the more generations a save file has the longer it will take to load the game also.

Definitely delete CC you don't find yourself using very much. If you have access to a windows computer you can use s3pe to compress package files. You may also want to use custard or the sims 3 dashboard to scan for any bad CC.

You may also want to consider upping your RAM from 4 to 8 GB. I did it a few weeks ago, and it's made such a big difference,

You can actually use Sims3PE to merge files on a mac - you need to download mono, and the right version of S3PE (one that doesn't use .Net4 or something like that). I do it a lot. It's kind of complicated though.

kirkuk wrote:You can actually use Sims3PE to merge files on a mac - you need to download mono, and the right version of S3PE (one that doesn't use .Net4 or something like that). I do it a lot. It's kind of complicated though.

Are there instructions to do this? I don't know how to work programs like these, I read the details and I get totally lost. :\

Okay so I got my RAM and installed it and ran four memtests--it passed all. But my launcher's going funny because it asks me if I want to update the game so I click "yes" and then it just hangs and it doesn't update. Then I try playing but it takes even longer to load. I'm also always stuck on the town loading screen--it never progresses, even after ten minutes. Is it just my game now and not my computer?